Cabaret performer Sadie Sinner represents everything we’re about here at QX: she lives her life on her own fabulous terms. A stunning 6’1 in heels, and often adorned with shimmering jewels and unapologetic piercings, she turns heads from Camden to Camberwell.
You might think she just wears her extravagant get-up for shows and photoshoots, but she wears it to pop to the shops. Believe me, I’ve been with her. Belsize Park Tesco at 10am on a Sunday. The woman restocking the frozen aisle took one look at her and almost fell over.
But this is why legendary creatures like Sadie are important. Even in London, people lack imagination. If conventional, single-minded worldviews are left unchallenged, they can fester, and people turn sour, and before we know it we’re all wearing Burton jeans and watching Celebrity Love Island and eating Old El Paso Sizzling Fajita kits every night. Who wants that. No, we need to wear retro jewellery, watch disruptive performers, and eat…papaya? With harissa mayonnaise! Now THERE’S a good strong meal. It’ll put hairs on your chest.
There was never any question in my head that Sadie would be on the cover of our Black History Month issue because in my view – inexperienced and cis white male as it is – she epitomizes black history. The daughter of first generation immigrants living her sequin-spattered life in the big city. I decided to use the beautiful pergola on Hampstead Heath as the setting for our photoshoot, because I felt it perfectly represented Sadie’s life – a proud African woman storming around a historic symbol of white wealth in a ballgown. Totes appropes!
This cover also marks a historic moment for QX: Sadie is the first black woman ever to grace our cover! And I couldn’t be happier. LOVE YOU SADLES. I asked her all about Black History Month, her new night The Cocoa Butter Club, and more.
Hey Sadie! Why is black history month so important?
Without Black History Month- a single month dedicated to the history of Black people- it is unlikely people would even know Blacks have a history beyond slavery.
What does it mean to you personally?
Black History Month means two conflicting things for me. On one hand it reminds me of all the greatness I come from, and that my possibilities are endless, something that I easily forget, especially as there are so few Blacks in position of power in the UK. On the other hand, it saddens me, because the history of my kind is so half-heartedly embraced for 31 days out of a year. It’s sad it has to “compete’ with trivial things like Stoptober – isn’t it sad more people know about Stoptober than Black History month? Why are the TV programmes not all covering Black History? As a whole, we celebrate this month really poorly. So whilst I want to scream from the rooftops and be proud, I’m reminded that really, too few care.
Is racism still a problem on the London gay scene?
I’ll give you a closed answer here; “yes”.
You’re a burlesque performer too. What’s the burlesque community’s attitude to race?
Well I’m actually more a cabaret performer, but I spend a lot of time with burlesquers and produce burlesque shows, and have indeed had my burlesque debut. The UK burlesque community has so little consideration for The Other. I might lose some friends here, but as a POC [person of colour], I can say with certainty that it “doesn’t see race”. It doesn’t create an environment that welcomes The Other or acknowledges its needs – especially some of the bigger shows. White casts, White audiences. Sometimes, I want to play a game, where the audience is POC only, and there is only one non-POC cast member. OR create a show to celebrate non-POC and stick it in front of a POC only audience. Do you see what I’m getting at? The UK burlesque community is uneducated in this matter, it cannot address race yet.
Now, this all being said, there are some outstanding allies for POC within the community. They know who they are and what they actively do for POC – from small gestures that make us feel considered, to obtaining Arts Council funding to stage shows where POC are the stars. These people see race – they send you a message when a news story breaks about a black man being shot. They ask to escort you to BLM marches. They put you in touch with other POC, because they understand cabaret is a white world and after a while, all you see are white performers and they understand how that gets lonely – and uninspiring. These people want you inspired and at your best. These people see race.
Tell us about your new night for people of colour, The Cocoa Butter Club!
It’s AMAZING! The Cocoa Butter Club gives a voice to The Other. We exist to promote the fact that performers of colour are creating and in a multitude of mediums, and whilst our cabaret may not always look the same, it’s just as important and deserves stage time.
We hope to remove the notion that performers of colour do not exist, and instead hold a mirror to productions, asking if they encourage performers of colour and the messages their art carries.
It boils my blood when I hear “no POC applied” or I get asked by large organisations which are supposed to celebrate diversity for a list of performers of colour because they don’t know any – read that again – peoples whose job it is to programme cabarets and book performers DONT KNOW PERFORMERS OF COLOUR. People, we have a problem.
Lastly, what makes The Cocoa Butter Club so important, and possibly quite unique, is it’s a mirror: it is not for white people, but they are welcomed. A notion POC have known their whole lives. Our target audience is POC. We have made a space where POC audiences feel as special as POC performers. Where POC feel valued and are put first. Here, we are not the afterthought, we’re the reason.
•The next Cocoa Butter Club is on 27th October at Her Upstairs, 18 Kentish Town Road, NW1 9NX. 7pm – 3am. Free entry.
